Donlin v. Watkins
| Decision Date | 29 April 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-3526,85-3526 |
| Citation | 814 F.2d 273 |
| Parties | , 1 Indiv.Empl.Rts.Cas. 1659 Patrick J. DONLIN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Dennis WATKINS, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Matthew A. Pentz, Warren, Ohio, for plaintiff-appellant.
Charles L. Richards, argued, Richards, Ambrosy, & Fredericka, Warren, Ohio, for defendant-appellee.
Before KEITH, KRUPANSKY and GUY, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff Patrick Donlin appeals the entry of summary judgment in favor of defendant in this civil rights case. Plaintiff alleged that he was deprived of his constitutional rights when his employment as an assistant county prosecutor was terminated after he filed petitions to run for the position of county prosecutor. Plaintiff now seeks reversal of the entry of summary judgment and appeals as well from the denial of a motion to vacate the judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). We affirm.
Plaintiff was admitted to the bar in the State of Ohio in 1971. In August of that year he was appointed an assistant county prosecutor in Trumbull County, Ohio, by county prosecutor J. Walter Dragelevich. Mr. Dragelevich resigned that office on January 1, 1984. Both plaintiff and defendant, also an assistant county prosecutor, sought the nomination of the Democratic Central Committee for appointment as interim county prosecutor. Defendant, however, was nominated and, on February 7, 1984, appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Dragelevich's resignation.
The position of county prosecutor was to be filled by the vote of the people in the 1984 general election. In February, 1984, both plaintiff and defendant filed petitions to run for that position in the May 8, 1984, Democratic primary election. They were the only contenders on the Democratic primary ballot for county prosecutor. Upon learning that plaintiff filed as a candidate in the May primary, defendant called plaintiff into his office and asked for his resignation. When plaintiff refused to resign, defendant terminated his employment as an assistant county prosecutor effective February 29, 1984. Defendant later won the primary and general elections.
In his complaint, plaintiff claims that his first amendment right to freedom of speech was abridged by defendant's conduct as well as his due process and equal protection rights guaranteed by the fourteenth amendment. In his motion for summary judgment, defendant argued that the undisputed facts did not establish a claim for relief under any of these theories.
After the filing of defendant's motion, plaintiff sought an extension of time to respond. The trial court granted the requested extension. Nevertheless, plaintiff failed to file a brief in opposition to defendant's motion or to seek a further extension of time in which to file.
In granting defendant's motion for summary judgment, the trial court carefully analyzed each of plaintiff's claims. As to plaintiff's claim that he was deprived of a protected property right without due process of law, the court held that plaintiff had no property interest in his employment since the position of assistant county prosecutor is in the unclassified civil service under Ohio law. Accordingly, persons holding that position can be summarily removed by the appointing authority. Ohio Rev.Code Sec. 124.11(A)(11). Because plaintiff served at the pleasure of the appointing authority, he held no claim of entitlement to his employment. The court also found that plaintiff had no protected right to be a candidate for a state political office. Snowden v. Hughes, 321 U.S. 1, 64 S.Ct. 397, 88 L.Ed. 497 (1944).
In addition, the trial judge noted that plaintiff could not establish denial of a protected liberty interest on the facts alleged. There was no allegation that plaintiff was "stigmatized" or that he otherwise suffered reputational injury affecting the acquisition of other employment. Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 701-702, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 1160-1161, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976). As no property or liberty interest existed, the court dismissed plaintiff's due process claims.
The court also dismissed plaintiff's claim that he was deprived of equal protection of the laws. The court noted that the complaint failed to assert that plaintiff was a member of a protected class or that rules were not applied neutrally, or to advance any theory in support of his claim.
The judge then addressed plaintiff's first amendment claim; that is, the claim that an impermissible burden was placed on the exercise of plaintiff's first amendment rights in being terminated from his job for running for office. The court analyzed this claim under the Supreme Court's reasoning set forth in Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983):
For at least 15 years, it has been settled that a State cannot condition public employment on a basis that infringes the employee's constitutionally protected interest in freedom of expression. Our task as we defined it in Pickering, is to seek "a balance between the interests of the [employee] as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public service it performs through its employees."
Id. at 142, 103 S.Ct. at 1687 (quoting Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 1734-1735, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968)).
In balancing the interests at stake here, the trial court found the scales weighted in favor of the employer:
Plaintiff was employed at the pleasure of the county prosecutor in a situation naturally giving rise to a close working relationship. In conducting the responsibilities of this public office while running as opponents in a political campaign for that same office, the public duties would naturally suffer or be subject to constant conflicts of interest.
In so ruling, the court relied in part on the unopposed affidavit of the defendant, which set forth his belief that plaintiff's continued employment would have created serious problems, including friction among staff members, morale problems, and possible security problems in that plaintiff had access to sensitive, confidential, and privileged information and could have been motivated to release such information in an effort to defeat defendant. The affidavit also indicated that plaintiff had previously made public statements disagreeing with defendant's policies, including defendant's use of the grand jury. The trial court found that these potential disruptions would seriously negate efficient operations of the prosecutor's interests and those of the State. In reaching its holding, the court again relied on Connick:
When close working relationships are essential to fulfilling public responsibilities, a wide degree of deference to the employer's judgment is appropriate. Furthermore, we do not see the necessity for an employer to allow events to unfold to the extent that the disruption of the office and the destruction of working relationships is manifest before taking action.
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